Thursday, October 29, 2009

I haven't posted in a while and have lots of stories to tell, but tonight I just want to share what Sean and I have been praying for.

Please feel free to leave us a message if we can be praying for you and please feel free to send up a prayer for us too!

Here is what has been our hearts lately..

Sean's PHD program - It seems a little crazy to already be thinking about what school Sean should get his PHD from considering that he is in his 9th week of his Masters Program! We found out pretty soon after starting the Masters program that different schools have different requirements for their PHD programs...so if you find a school you like you better have met all of their requirements. Sean and I really like living in Wheaton, but we aren't sure if Wheaton College will be the best choice for Sean to get his PHD from based on his career goals post-school. Our main prayer is that we go wherever God wants us to be. I tell Sean quite frequently that it doesn't matter where his diploma is from - God will use him however He sees fit. We've been asking God to reveal to us where he would like us in the 2nd stage of graduate school. There are lots of options; options to stay up north & options to move back down south. Of course my heart gets a little giddy thinking about being in the South, but I really am at ease knowing He is going to take us where He desires.

Love for People - so Sean and I have both entered into new work environments and are surrounded by lots of different types of people (Let's use the phrase "non-southerners") We have both been really challenged to have positive attitudes and serving hearts, not because we aren't use to different types of people, but we both work in stressful/chaotic environments. (Today especially - I prayed for lots of love for people!). Sean and I desire to be different, to show people that we are living for something other than worldly desires, but it can be really hard to do that. I must say that God has truly blessed me by providing two wonderful and caring co-workers! I love these new girls and am very grateful to get to work with them everyday. I think the biggest challenge in jobs and careers can be deciding to have a positive attitude and deciding to love people during times of frustration and misunderstanding. I'm trying to teach my mind and heart to love those that frustrate me and hurt me. Not easy, but I'm trying.

Family - Our family is incredible and we are truly blessed to have them. Both sides of our family have had lots of big changes lately and Sean and I have been praying that God will guide all of their decisions. We pray that he will ease their stress and show them grace thru challenging times. We also pray for all of our nieces and nephews that they would have Godly parents who show them Christ's love and that they would one day have a personal relationship with God.

Hannah Grace - my long time friend, Jennifer Reeves (Watson) got married this past summer and had the sweetest little girls in her wedding as flower-girls. One of the little girls recently became very ill. Jen has been posting updates on Twitter and Hannah has been on my heart quite a bit. This past week Jen sent me a link to Hannah's parent's blog. I spent my entire Monday evening reading every post. It is just incredible what this little girl has been thru and how strong her family has been. It's amazing to read the emotions expressed in one blog...hurt...sadness...misunderstanding...grace...love...hope... all in one post. Sean and I continue to pray for her and I love to come home from work and read the blog and see how she is doing that day. I pray that God heals her body, provides her comfort and peace now, that she isn't feeling any pain, and continues to give her parents strength, and the doctors wisdom in their actions and decisions. Please be sure to pray for Miss Hannah if you get a chance!

Friends - Sean and I have lots of wonderful friends that we love to pray for. We pray that God would guide their actions, that they would be seeking Him in their daily lives. It's a very exciting and different time for our group of friends. We've had lots of friends move, graduate, take on new responsibilities, new jobs, etc. We miss getting to be around them, but hope they know how much we love and miss them. We both try to stay in touch with friends (the only good part about my 2 hour commute = lots of good phone time!) and always want to know how we can be praying for them. So let us know what we can be praying for you about!

I have lots of more prayers to share, but I want to include a cool passage from a John Piper book that Sean and I are reading right now. The book is called "Pierced by the Word"

Pg. 15

"But let us not tell Jesus what love is. Let us not instruct Him how He should love us and make us central. Let us learn from Jesus what love is and what our true well-being is. Love is doing whatever you need to do to help people see and savor the glory of God in Christ forever and ever. Love keeps God central. Because the soul was made for God."

About Us

Sean and I were married on March 21, 2009. We are about to make a big move to Chicago. Sean will be starting the masters program at Wheaton College and I will be joining the corporate world in the Windy City. We are excited to see what the Lord has planned for us and know we are about to learn a lot about Him and our relationship. We also think that we will be Cubs fans too!